Fated
by Parsec
Summary: [Warning: rated R for graphic violence & death!] Blossom becomes unwittingly entwined in the fates of others...
1. Chapter 1

[WARNING:  This fic is rated R for graphic violence!  It also includes the deaths of main characters, so if this is something you'd rather not read, then you had best stop reading right here.  Otherwise, enjoy…]

FATED By:  Mark J. Hadley 

*          *            *

CHAPTER 1 

            The City of Townsville… a city whose hardworking people are looking forward to the weekend, and a few days of relaxation.  This is a good weekend for it as well, since the annual fair is in town; posters all over town announced it for the past week, to build excitement and so that everyone could start making plans to attend.  The fair itself was ready overnight that Thursday, the trucks rolling in on the outskirts of town and setting up the rides, games, and attractions in preparation of everyone's arrival starting on Friday.  The sight of the fairground going up served to heighten the anticipation even further.

            This was especially true for the children of Townsville.  It was the subject of playground discussion during recess at Pokey Oaks Kindergarten, as all the children were eagerly telling each other what rides they wanted to go on first.  Even their teacher, Ms. Keane, was excited about it… since some of the attractions included historical displays and various other educational exhibits, she decided to arrange a field trip for the class, much to the delight of the children.  The intent was to learn a few things while they were at it, but it wasn't difficult to see that Ms. Keane just wanted an excuse to go to the park herself.

            That Friday, all the children gathered on the bus that was to take them to the fair.  Everyone had brought their field trip permission slips from their folks at home, and of course, money for admission, rides, games, and food.  Once Ms. Keane checked everyone's permission slips to be sure everything was in order, she smiled and gave an okay signal to the bus driver.  All the children cheered as the bus pulled away from Pokey Oaks, and began driving off towards the fair.

            "I can't wait!" Bubbles said, bouncing up and down in her seat.  "Didja hear about the animal show?  There's going to be ponies there!  We can even ride them!"  She looked like she was going to swoon just at the thought.

            "Nah, bring on the games!" Buttercup said, grinning.  "I'll win every stuffed animal in that fair, just watch!"

            Blossom said, "Easy, Buttercup… remember last year?  I don't think they want you to break the strength meter again…"

            "Well, what'd they expect?" Buttercup shrugged.  "Those things are rigged, they've _gotta _be.  I hit that thing with the hammer as hard as I could, smashed the platform and everything, but the stupid bell-ringer thing didn't even go up all the way!  Serves them _right _that it broke, huh?"

            Shaking her head, Blossom replied, "It's not how _hard _you hit it, Buttercup, it's _where _you hit it.  I'll prove it when we're there, okay?"

            "Fine," Buttercup sighed, folding her arms.  She looked out of the window, watching as the bus continued on closer to its destination.  Blossom sat back in her seat calmly, but in reality, she was just as excited as the rest of them were.  _There's supposed to be a big science exhibit, too,_ she thought.  _And an art show!  I like the fact that we'll be able to have so much fun, and learn a great deal at the same time.  Ms. Keane is definitely the coolest teacher ever to put this trip together for us!_  She smiled as she thought about the exhibits, and what kind of amazing things she'd see and learn there…

*          *            *

            "Let's see," Ms. Keane said, looking over a schedule of the various shows at the fair.  "The art show opens in an hour… the historical exhibit opens a half hour after that…"  She smiled and looked over at her class and said, "Well, there's some time before we get the learning portion of our trip underway, so why don't we all meet back here in one hour?  Don't get lost now!"  She knew they'd be perfectly safe anyway, because security at the fair was vigilant, with officers posted regularly throughout the fairgrounds.  Besides, as busy as things were, the layout of the fair was simple enough that it was difficult to get lost in the first place.

            The kids cheered and began heading off in various directions, most of them towards the rides and games.  A few headed for the concession stands to buy cotton candy or drinks.  The Powerpuff girls, in the meantime, stayed where they were and looked around, trying to decide where to go first.  "Let's try the games!" Buttercup urged.  "C'mon, it'll be fun!"

            "I wanna see the animals," Bubbles insisted.  "We can play the games later!"

            Blossom glanced up at a clock that was up over the fair entrance and said, "Well, we have plenty of time.  Bubbles, you go ahead to the animals, but make sure to be back here afterwards, all right?"

            "Wheee!" Bubbles shouted, and bounded off in the direction of the animal pens.  Blossom grinned a little, then pulled out her money to check it, thinking, _Okay, we've got enough for some games, a little food later on, and probably one ride on each of the rides…_

            Buttercup grabbed her arm and said, "Count your money later, Red… let's get playin'!"  She pulled Blossom along in the direction of the midway games.  As they went, they saw Ms. Keane heading towards the large Ferris wheel in the center of the fair.  If Blossom didn't know any better, she would have sworn that Ms. Keane's expression was almost child-like, as if she were reminiscing about what it was like to go to fairs like this when she was their age.

            They reached the games, booth after booth with stuffed animals and other prizes hanging along the fronts, and the hawkers at each booth calling out to each passerby to try their luck with them.  Buttercup's eyes lit up the moment they got close, and she took off, flying up to the nearest booth, a baseball throwing game.  The man already at the booth had just thrown his last ball, knocking only one of the bottles from the stand across the way… the game's attendant said, "Aww, nice try.  Better luck next time… so, who's next?"

            "Me!" Buttercup said, flying up and putting a dollar down on the table.  The attendant's eyes widened slightly as he recognized her from the previous year, and he nervously took the dollar, putting the baseballs on the table in front of her.  Buttercup scooped them up and exclaimed, "All right!  Here goes…"

            Blossom smiled a little and casually wandered off to look at the other games.  There was a dart-throwing game, with people trying to pop balloons against a board, and decided she'd have to remember to compete with Buttercup to see who could pop the most.  Besides, she figured, there was a _really _cute stuffed zebra doll on display there, and it would be a challenge to win, since she'd have to hit a balloon with every dart to do so.

            Her eyes spotted something else, a fortune teller's hut situated next to the dart-throwing game.  The sign above said, 'MADAME MYSTERIA -- YOUR FORTUNE READ, $.50'.  Blossom shook her head a little… she didn't really believe in fortune telling or magic, and knew it was all a sham, but it was still funny to watch them go through their little scripted routine, and see what kind of bogus, horoscope-type information they would come up with.  Besides, for fifty cents, it was cheap as far as the other games went, and was probably good for a laugh.  She walked up to the entrance to the hut, pushing the drapes aside and entering.

            It was dark inside, of course, and there were little strings of white Christmas lights running along the edges of the hut.  In the center was a small, round table, atop which sat a crystal ball pulsing with swirling light, the only other light source.  Little moon and star cutouts were attached across the whole interior of the hut and along the cloth that hung from the table.  Blossom stifled a laugh… she was sure that it was meant to create some kind of atmosphere, but it looked so cheesy.  Nevertheless, she went up to the chair next to the table and hopped up onto it, standing instead of sitting so she could see over the edge.

            From the darkness on the far side of the hut, a figure moved forward, moving into the light and sitting in the opposite chair.  As expected, she wore gypsy robes, embroidered with fancy designs, with a hood that covered her head.  She was hanging her head down, only a little bit of the bottom of her face visible beneath the folds of the hood, and spoke in a strained voice, "Welcome, young one, to Madame Mysteria's tent… you have many questions, as I know, but first…"  She extended her hand slowly towards Blossom, palm facing up.

            Blossom took fifty cents from her supply of money and put it in the fortune teller's hand, which closed over the coins and retracted just as slowly.  She put the money away, then brought both of her hands out over the crystal ball, which began to light up.  "Now then… the spirits are strong today… very strong… and they will grant you what you wish to know… the future…"

            Nodding, Blossom decided to pick the first thing that came to mind to ask, about the outcome of her dart-throwing competition with Buttercup.  Opening her mouth, she started to say, "Can you t—…"

            "Shhhhhh…" the fortune teller said, raising a finger to her lips.  "You may believe you know what you wish to learn… but what you believe may not be what you really wish to know… the spirits will guide you, see into your soul and find the answers that you truly desire…"

            _So this isn't a request,_ Blossom thought.  _Makes sense, that way she can just give a general prediction, so it can apply to anything.  It's fun to watch her do the lines, though… I wonder if she writes this stuff ahead of time, or what?  She probably does it so often that she knows it by heart…_

            Retracting one of her hands, she placed the other on top of the crystal ball, still not lifting her head from where she was staring down at the table, and said, "The future is there, always… clouded by the present, which prevents us from seeing it… only if you truly believe can the cloud be pierced… do you believe?"

            Playing along, Blossom said, "Yes."

            "Do you wish to see things that are yet to pass?" she continued.  "Do you wish to see what will become… what will inevitably be?"

            "Yes," Blossom nodded.

            With the briefest of nods, the fortune teller spoke again, "Do you wish to see how they will die?"

            The last line took her a bit off-guard.  Blinking a few times, Blossom said, "…what?"

            "Do you wish to see…" the fortune teller said, her voice filling with a darker, more dangerous tone, "…how they will _all _die…?"

            Not sure how to respond, Blossom stared across the table blankly for a few moments.  Something felt eerily wrong about the whole situation now… the fortune teller's choice of words had sent a chill down her spine, and briefly she wondered if she was serious.  She knew it was crazy, but at the same time, she was far too curious to back off now, if only for some confirmation that it was some kind of tasteless joke.  She finally found her voice and whispered, "Yes…"

            "Look here, child…" she said, pulling her hand away from the crystal ball, and grasping her hood, pulling it back very slowly as she lifted her head.  Blossom gasped as she saw the woman's face completely now.  It was middle-aged, with a few wrinkles, nothing out of the ordinary, except for around her eyes.  There were scars that ran across them, some just from eyelid to eyelid, but others from further out along her face.  The eyes themselves were hazel, and looked perfect, showing no sign of the scars that her eyelids implied would be present.  The fortune teller stared directly into Blossom's eyes, and she stared back, noticing something in them… weariness, and maybe a bit of sadness, although whether from age or anything else, she couldn't tell.

            Giving a small, nearly imperceptible twitch, the fortune teller said, "The future will become known to you… and to you alone… accept the hands of fate, and believe…"  Blossom's eyes were locked onto hers now, and she didn't look away… she almost _couldn't _look away, her own curiosity keeping her in place, and the ominous words that were being spoken…

            A bright flash of light startled her, and she clamped her eyes shut, falling back into the chair and rubbing them with her hands.  It had come so quickly that she didn't even get to see where the source of the light came from, although part of her suspected it was probably from the crystal ball on the table, since she had been staring across it.  Opening her eyes, she waited until they adjusted to the darkness once again, seeing that the fortune teller had returned the robe over her head and was leaning back once again.

            "What… why did…?" Blossom started to ask.

            "You will know," came the reply.  "You will feel it, and know the future… you will see fate for yourself…"  With that, she got up from the table and backed off into the shadows in the back of the hut.  Blossom was about to protest, but then sighed and decided not to.  _Creepy old lady, _she thought, hopping down from the chair and heading for the exit to the hut, rubbing her eyes a bit more.  _I think she was just trying to be scary… I mean, she didn't even tell me a fortune, really…_

            She emerged back out into the fair, giving the hut a glance for a moment before she shrugged and started off to look for Buttercup.  _If I know her, _she thought, _she probably has a huge stack of prizes by now.  Oh well… maybe I can still challenge her to that dart game.  Even if I didn't learn the outcome… _ She laughed a bit to herself, then headed off into the crowd.

*          *            *

            A lot of kids were in line for the pony rides, which took place in a small fenced-in area next to the stables.  The animal handler controlling the ride held onto the reigns and guided the pony, a beautiful brown and white one, around the ride area… the rider, little Robin Snyder, grinned and waved at the other children, who waved back to her.  At the front of the line, Bubbles was hopping up and down in anticipation.

            The pony was guided back over towards the stables, and the man helped Robin get down from the saddle.  She said, "Thank you, sir!  That was great!"

            "Any time, little miss," the man nodded, then turned towards the line, "Who's next?"

            "Me me me me me!" Bubbles exclaimed, waving her arms.  The man laughed and motioned for her to come.  She wasted no time in hopping over excitedly, and the man laughed, picking her up and setting her down on the pony.  He started to lead the pony around the ride area, and Bubbles was beaming, absolutely enjoying herself.

            She heard Buttercup's voice call out, "Hey, Bubbles!"  Glancing over, she saw Buttercup outside the edge of the fence, carrying a rather large stuffed tiger doll, bigger than she was.  She also spotted Mitch Mitchellson next to her.  Now that she had her attention, Buttercup continued, "Mitch and I were gonna hit the arcade for a little bit… wanna come?"

            "In a minute," Bubbles shouted to her.  She hugged the back of the pony's neck and sighed happily.  As much as she wanted the ride to last forever, she knew it was coming to an end soon, but this didn't sadden her; it was good while it lasted.__

*          *            *

            The fair was absolutely packed by now.  People kept coming in as the early morning began to pass, and Blossom figured that a lot of them probably were taking the day off from their jobs just to spend the extra day.  Of course, this didn't make finding someone any easier.  As she made her way through the crowd, she glanced at a clock on the side of one of the displays, which showed that they had about a half hour before they had to meet back with the rest of the class.

            _Ah, they're probably off having a good time anyway, _she thought.  _I should be doing the same.  Maybe I'll head back and try out that baseball game, if Buttercup left it in once piece…_

            As she started back, she watched some people get off of a merry-go-round.  One of the groups was a family of three, consisting of a mother, father, and a small boy, probably around four or five years old.  The mother is what caught her attention, though, because she had long, red hair, much like her own.  The woman looked around the park and stopped for a moment when she noticed Blossom watching her.  Blossom smiled, and the woman smiled back… for a moment, Blossom thought she looked a lot how she pictured herself when she would eventually grow up.  She imagined that the woman may have looked similar to her when she was younger, too.

            And while she was thinking this, staring into the woman's eyes, she imagined her choking to death.

            _No wait, _she thought, startled a little bit… _that's not my imagination, is it?  What _was_ that?  _She tried to focus on her again, but the woman had already turned back to her family, and they started moving through the crowd.  Blossom was confused… _What just happened? _she thought.  _Why would I imagine something like that?  _The picture was so clear in her mind, and it came from nowhere, just as surely as if she had thought it up herself… she had difficulty remembering it, because the thought had passed by her so quickly…

            Snapping back to her senses, she chided herself for getting distracted and returned to looking for the other girls.  _It was probably nothing, _she thought.  _That creepy 'fortune teller' must have spooked me.  I don't even believe in that stuff, why am I letting it get to me?_  Heading further into the crowd, she gave a glance in the direction the woman had gone, just for a moment, before continuing on.

*          *            *

            Looking out from the top of the Ferris wheel, Ms. Keane could see out across the entire fair.  It was really starting to get packed quickly, and she was briefly concerned that the children might get lost… but then, she could also spot a few of them from up here, and they seemed perfectly fine.  In fact, most of them hadn't even gone too far from their meeting point in the first place, so she figured it would be easy to gather them all back together again.

            In the meantime, though, she just enjoyed the ride.  She had gone to this fair every year since she was a little girl, and it brought back so many memories.  The Ferris wheel was always her favorite, because she could see so far out.  She used to imagine that this is what birds would see, flying high above everyone else.  It was both relaxing and exciting, and it was something she always looked forward to year after year.

            There was a bit of commotion below that caught her attention, and she peered over the side for a better look.  Alarmed, she watched an ambulance pull into the fair, and paramedics quickly heading out to a gathering of people below… worrying suddenly for the children, she looked for any of them in that area but didn't see any, other than Blossom, who was flying in that direction, obviously having heard the siren…

*          *            *

            Blossom approached the now tightly packed crowd… she was concerned when she heard the ambulance arrive, and wanted to see if there was any way she could help.  The paramedics had already made their way through, and even though she figured they would probably be able to help the most, Blossom still decided to fly up and get a better look at what was going on.

            Someone had collapsed, and the paramedics were trying to revive her, as the crowd had formed a circle around them to give them space.  In shock, Blossom recognized her as the woman she had seen just before, the one with the long red hair… she spotted the little boy off to one side, hugging his father's leg tightly as the father tried to comfort him.  Blossom descended to the edge of the circle and landed, watching the medics continue their efforts, but then they stopped, and sadly shook their heads.

            The little boy was crying, and tore away from his father's leg, covering his face with his hands.  Blossom moved over and tried to comfort him, "Hey… are you all right?"

            "M-mommy…" the boy sobbed.  "…she… sh-she's…"

            "I'm so sorry," Blossom said softly.  She looked over at the woman and said, "What… what happened?"

            Still rubbing his eyes and not looking up, the boy said, "I-I dunno… we were j-just… just getting some pretzels… mommy t-took a bite an'… a-an'…"

            At the sound of this, Blossom felt cold again… the woman choked to death on a bite of pretzel?  It was so startling close to what she had imagined… and it began to occur to her that maybe she _wasn't _imagining it after all.  She thought, _Did I… did I see the future somehow?  But… I don't have any kind of powers like that… so how…?_

            She gradually remembered the words of the fortune teller… ["_Do you wish to see how they will die?  Do you wish to see… how they will _all_ die?_"]  …that bright flash of light when she had stared into her eyes… that final, ominous message… ["_You will feel it, and know the future… you will see fate for yourself…_"]

            Looking around the crowd, which security had begun to disperse as the medics were moving the woman's body, she tried to focus on the people.  Nothing was coming, though… no visions, no premonitions… until she made eye contact with an old man that was looking in her direction.  An image flashed in her mind, even clearer than before, showing the man clutching his chest and collapsing, probably due to a heart attack.  She couldn't tell, because the image was vague, and she saw nothing that showed where he was.  Otherwise, it was crystal-clear, until the man turned his head to look away, after which it faded.

            Blossom quickly looked around at other people… there was a girl walking with some of her friends, and when the girl looked at her, she stared back into her eyes and saw an image of the girl's arms and neck broken.  As with the other ones, it was still vague, so she couldn't see any kind of details as to how it happened.  Turning, she looked at a security guard, who looked back at her long enough for her to see a vision of the guard clutching what looked like a bullet wound to his chest.

            _Oh my god, _Blossom thought… _What… what happened to me…?_

TO BE CONTINUED… 


	2. Chapter 2

CHAPTER 2

            Ms. Keane watched the children as they walked along the rows of the art exhibit… though they were too young to be serious art critics, a lot of them were still interested at all the beautiful images that were painted, most of them submitted to the exhibit by local artists.  A number of the pieces would probably show up in Townsville's museum, she figured.  She was glad that the students had time to see them up-close like this, and hoped that they would learn a thing or two about artistic style in the process.

            Still, not all the children were present.  Blossom hadn't shown up at the appointed time, and Ms. Keane wondered where she might be.  It wasn't like Blossom to be late to a class gathering like this, and she had seemed so interested in the exhibit in the first place.  Ms. Keane wondered briefly if she had gotten lost, but then reminded herself that Blossom was a Powerpuff Girl; she could always fly up and find the entrance that way.  That only made it all the more odd, because it meant that she was staying away on her own free will… or maybe against her will somehow.  But again, she thought that seemed unlikely for a Powerpuff…

            _I"ll have to have a talk with her when she gets back, _she thought.  _I hope she just lost track of time or something…_

*          *            *

            Sitting on a bench near the middle of the fair, Blossom watched all the people walking by in increasing awe.  She had obviously been given some kind of gift… with but a glance into someone's eyes, and only a brief moment of concentration on them, she could see how that person was going to eventually die.  She continued to see the visions in everyone she tried it on… one person looked badly burned, while another had been impacted heavily in the chest, probably crushing their rib cage… she also saw another person that look like they were going to choke to death as well, and someone that had bled to death from a massive gash across their side.  All of them looked so healthy as they were now, naturally unaware of their ultimate end.  After all, they couldn't possibly be sure of their own future.

            But Blossom knew, and as she pondered the implications of this 'gift', she was also terrified of it.  It was horrible to see these visions of death… and yet, she was too curious not to look.  It held a morbid fascination, for now at least, but how long could she tolerate it?  _Will this happen every time I look into someone's eyes?_ she thought.  _Will I have to see it all the time?  I wish I could shut it off…_

            Even worse than seeing so much death was the mystery behind it.  _Maybe that's why I can't stop looking, _she thought, _because I can see how they're going to die, but not what causes it… they're all fated for an end, but I just can't see how exactly!  _It was becoming so confusing that she clamped her eyes shut for a moment, turning her head away from them.  Even as she did, she couldn't help but wonder what she was missing by doing so.  It was little by little tearing her apart, whether or not to look, whether or not she really needed to know such a horrible thing about _anyone_…

            As she opened her eyes a bit, she caught a glimpse of a clock, and was suddenly shocked to realize that she had been sitting at the bench for almost an hour.  _I'm late! _she thought, leaping off the bench and flying towards the art exhibit.  As heavily as this whole situation was weighing upon her mind, she didn't want to upset Ms. Keane by missing class…

            Arriving at the tent that was set up to contain the exhibit, she landed and went inside, breathing a sigh of relief as she spotted her classmates in the distance.  She was glad that she hadn't missed it entirely, and smiled as she started to head over to them, but froze when she heard someone clearing their voice off to her side.  Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Ms. Keane standing with her arms folded, who said, "Blossom, there you are… a little late, aren't we?"

            "I'm sorry, Ms. Keane," Blossom said, staring down at the ground meekly.  "It won't happen again."  
            "It's all right," Ms. Keane told her.  "I saw you flying over by that ambulance earlier, but that was over a half hour ago.  What were you doing since then?"

            "I was just…" Blossom said, looking up at her.  When their eyes made contact, however, she was suddenly struck with an image of Ms. Keane covered with a dozen small cuts, her arms and legs twisted at odd angles and her back obviously broken, at the angle it was bent.  The suddenness of it made Blossom gasp and shut her eyes… _No,_ she thought, _Ms. Keane…_

            Looking at her curiously, Ms. Keane said, "Are you all right?"

            "I'm… fine, I'm sorry…" Blossom managed to say, and turned to head towards the other kids.  When she opened hr eyes, though, she saw that a number of them had overheard her talking with Ms. Keane, and were staring at her.  Her eyes flitted about from classmate to classmate, and she was hit with more images.  She caught sight of Mitch, and had a vision of him with something stuck in his chest, although it was as ghostly as the background so she couldn't see what it was.  More of the kids were covered with deep wounds and blood in their images, and near the back, she saw Robin, and an image of her looking as though something was impaling her through the head.

            With a yelp, Blossom covered her face with her arms and turned quickly for the exit to the exhibit, saying, "Ms. Keane, I have to go!"  Without waiting for a reply from the perplexed teacher, she rushed outside the tent… once out, she went along the side until she found a spot by herself, and fell to her knees, doing her best to keep from crying.  _How can I ever look at them again? _she wondered.  _I can't bear to see them like that… I don't _want _to see them like that!_

*          *            *

            While the kids were trying to figure out the cause of Blossom's outburst, Buttercup flew over, having heard the commotion.  "What happened?" she asked, while Bubbles arrived ight behind her, just as curious.

            Ms. Keane answered, "Something's bothering Blossom.  She's outside… Girls, may I ask you to go and talk with her, and find out what's wrong?"

            "Okay," Bubbles nodded, and headed for the exit to the tent.  She and Buttercup poked their heads outside and looked around for her.  Not spotting her immediately, they flew into the air to get some height, to see if she was in the area, and spotted her around the edge of the tent.  Buttercup pointed her out, and they both descended.

            Blossom, in the meantime, had heard the sound of them flying closer, and bit her lip, keeping her eyes shut.  Before they could say anything, she told them, "Girls, I… I need your help…"

            "Are you all right?" Buttercup asked.  "Ms. Keane thought you were acting kind of funny…"  
            "No, I'm not all right," Blossom replied.  "S-something happened to me…"

            Bubbles, hearing the urgency in Blossom's voice, said, "What is it?"

            Blossom opened her eyes a bit, staring down at the ground, at a few blades of grass… she said, "I… I went to go see a fortune teller here at the fair… and… and she did something to me…"

            Buttercup narrowed one of her eyes, "Aw, c'mon, none of that stuff's real.  What'd she do, predict somethin' bad was gonna happen to you?"

            "No!" Blossom said.  "She… I dunno how but… she did something to me, and now I… I have some kind of… I can't explain it…."

            "Some kind of what?" Bubbles asked.

            "I can… see how people are going to… die…" Blossom managed to say.  "I look in their eyes, and just… sense it…"

            "Oh please…" Buttercup huffed.

            Blossom shut her eyes again, "No, I'm serious!  I looked into some woman's eyes, and saw her choking… and then, later on, she did, she choked to death… didn't you hear the ambulance earlier?"

            "Well," Bubbles said, thinking about it, "yeah, I heard it… but…"

            "I knew it was going to happen!" Blossom insisted.  "I knew she was going to die that way!  And I can see it in _everyone_!  I saw an old man, and sensed that he'd have a heart attack… a girl that breaks her neck… a cop that gets shot… I just look in their eyes and…"  She hesitated before saying, "Girls… I'm scared…"

            Seeing the seriousness on Blossom's face, Buttercup's skepticism gave way to concern… she said, "You can… you can see how _anyone's _going to die?"

            "Even us?" Bubbles asked.

            Blossom answered, "I don't know… I…"

            Breaking her off, Bubbles said, "Try it on me…"

            Buttercup shook her head, "No, don't, Blossom… I don't like this, I don't want to know…"

            "Please?" Bubbles insisted.

            Blossom thought about it for a moment, and then slowly opened her eyes, turning to look at Bubbles.  Their eyes met… and Blossom's heart fell when she saw the image that came to her.  Part of her had always wondered if their powers would grant them immortality, if their own toughness would let them live forever.  It was startling now to be faced with the truth: that as powerful as they were, they were still mortal, just like everyone else… and that eventually, they too would die…

            Watching her, Bubbles asked, "What do you see?  Tell me…"  
            "You're…" Blossom said, feeling tears coming to her eyes as she tried to speak, her words becoming thick with emotion, "You're s-stretched out… and you look like you're… trying to b-breathe... like you're… y-you're suffocating… or s-something… I c-can't tell how…"

            Bubbles swallowed once, and started breathing shallowly in fear, holding a hand to her chest.  "B-but I'm okay now… right?"

            "Yeah…" Blossom said, then closed her eyes, "Bubbles, I'm so sorry…"

            "No, it's… okay…" Bubbles said, trying to keep her own tears at bay.  Blossom guessed that being faced with her own mortality was shaking to her as well.  After regaining her composure a bit, Bubbles looked over and said, "What about Buttercup?"

            "No," Buttercup insisted, shaking her head.  "I don't wanna know.  You can look if you want, Blossom, but don't tell me, all right?"

            "All right," Blossom said, nodding.  Buttercup took a deep breath and faced her, and Blossom looked into her eyes… she gasped almost as soon as she did.  The picture that came to her was so _terrible… _It looked as though Buttercup had been torn in half across her torso, a pool of blood between her upper and lower halves, and her face was contorted with pain as she thrashed for a few seconds.  Blossom went pale, thinking, _Oh… god…_

            Turning away, Blossom clenched her eyes shut and covered her mouth, trying to keep from retching at the image she saw.  Buttercup looked troubled by her reaction, and said, "It can't be _that _bad, can it?!"

            "It's… it's like…" Blossom said, "…it seems like each time, it's getting worse… Buttercup, I-I don't want you to die like th—… "

            "Stop it!" Buttercup shouted.  "Nothing's gonna happen to me!  Whatever you saw, it's probably a long ways from happening anyway, right?"

            Sitting up, Blossom answered, "I don't know… I don't know, I just see you as you are now…"  That suddenly seemed strange to her.  It wasn't just Buttercup, but now she realized that everyone she had seen had looked the same age in the image as they were when she saw them.  Even the other kids in the class didn't look like adults.  _I probably just see it as they are now, _she thought, _even if it doesn't actually happen for years…_

            "Man, this… this really stinks…" Buttercup said, kicking the dirt on the ground.  "Well, whatever happens to me, I hope I go down fighting, that's all I gotta say…"

            Bubbles, who had remained quiet for a bit, finally said, "I was… kinda hoping I'd… you know… d-die of old age… you know?"

            "Me too," Blossom nodded, "But… well, we're in a dangerous line of work, being superheroes and all, and… we…"  She trailed off, as something else didn't seem to make sense.  "Wait a minute… so far, I haven't seen a single person who is going to die of old age.  I thought I would've at least seen one… what's going on here?"

            "Townsville's a rough place to be," Buttercup suggested.  "Monster attacks and all…"

            Blossom waved her arms, "I know, but just _one…_"  She looked off towards the fair and said, "I'm going to go back and find that fortune teller again, and find out what on Earth she did to me.  You two wait…."  But before she could complete what she was saying, she froze… all three of the girls did, because they all heard it on their ultrasonic hearing… a cry for help in the distance.

*          *            *

            It wasn't hard to find where the cry was coming from, since there was a gathering of people around.  The girls descended towards the spot to see what the trouble was, and Blossom's eyes widened as they did… a woman, the one calling for help, was next to a man lying on the ground, and she recognized him as the old man she had seen earlier.  Even before they set down, she knew what had happened to him.

            Bubbles landed and asked, "Is he all right?"

            The woman shook her head and said, "He just passed out, and I don't think he's breathing!"

            "C'mon, let's fly him to a hospital," Buttercup said, as both she and Bubbles went over to the side of the man in preparation to pick him up.  She hesitated when she saw Blossom staring at the man, and said, "Blossom, c'mon!"

            "Buttercup… it's too late…" Blossom said softly.

            "Whaddaya mean?!  We can still save him!" Buttercup said firmly.

            Blossom hung her head sadly and said, "Listen to him.  Do you hear a heartbeat?"  Buttercup paused, and finally shook her head slowly.  "We can't save him… he's already dead…"

            "But…" Bubbles said, "but… we should still try!"

            "No," Blossom said.  "I… this is the guy I mentioned before… remember?"

            There was a long silence after that, and Buttercup spoke up, "You mean… you really _did _see it?  So it's… it's all real?"

            "Yes," Blossom nodded, "But… I don't understand… why d—…"

            A scream from nearby interrupted her… all heads snapped around to face the direction, and the scream was cut off just as suddenly as it had started.  Without sparing a minute, the girls flew towards the sound, and found its source: a girl lying sprawled out across the ground.  Even though she was face down, Blossom had a suspicion on who it was, and the idea made her blood run cold…

            Bubbles flipped the girl over, and it confirmed what Blossom was thinking… the girl's arms and neck look like they had been broken in the impact of whatever caused her to land there.  A ride operator ran from a nearby spinning ride, stopping not far from her in horror.  Bubbles looked over at him and demanded, "What happened?!"

            "It wasn't my fault!" the operator said.  "Somethin'… somethin' happened to her safety brace on th' ride… it came loose, and she was tossed right outta it…"

            Buttercup knelt down by the girl, and looked up at Blossom, asking, "Blossom, is this…?"  Blossom nodded slowly, and Buttercup gritted her teeth, "What the heck is going _on_?"

            The paramedics were starting to show up, but Blossom didn't notice… she was focused on something else.  "The security guard!" she said.  "Find the security guard, quick!"

            "Wh-what did he look like?" Bubbles asked.

            "He was a cop," Blossom told them.  "Not too thin, with sandy blond hair and glasses… hurry!"  She took off into the air, and the girls split off in different directions.  Quickly scanning the crowd, her eyes jumped from guard to guard that she could spot, until they finally landed on someone that looked like the one she had seen earlier.  The guard was walking along off somewhere by himself, whistling and twirling his gun around on his finger.  Upon seeing that, Blossom darted in his direction, shouting, "No!!"

            Before she could reach him, though, the gun suddenly went off in his hand, and the guard staggered back, clutching the bullet wound it made on his chest.  Blossom flew behind the man to catch him as he began to fall off of his feet.  The guard was tense for a few moments, before he fell limp; the bullet, having gone straight through his heart and into his spine, had fatally wounded him.

            Blossom practically dropped the man in shock.  _This… this can't be a coincidence, _she thought… _Four deaths, together at the same fair… everyone else is okay, but these four die, and they were the first four people I…_  The pieces began to fall together, as she felt absolutely chilled as she thought, _I'm not just seeing how they die, am I?  _That's_ why nobody looks any older in the visions… this is some kind of curse!  Maybe… maybe I'm actually causing them to die… maybe if I hadn't looked at them, they would be just fine, and would live however long they were supposed to…_

            An even more horrible thought occurred to her at that moment.  _Ms. Keane… the rest of the class… oh god… Bubbles!  Buttercup!!_  Leaving the security guard behind, she took off into the air to find them… her heart was pounding fearfully as she realized that, with just a glance, she had quite possibly doomed them all…

*          *            *

            The distant gunshot had alerted both Bubbles and Buttercup that something had happened, and both of them flew back in the direction of it, scanning around to try and find where it came from.  Buttercup narrowed her eyes in frustration and said, "Bubbles, do you see anything?"

            "No, I don't," she called back, before flying over to where Buttercup was.  "Where's Blossom?"

            "She's got to be around," Buttercup shrugged.  "Let's just wait up here for her so she can see us…"

            "_Girls!!_" came a shout in one direction.  By the time both of them had turned to face it, Blossom flew up to them quickly, grabbing them in a hug with each arm.  Her eyes were filled with tears as she stammered, "Oh, th-thank goodness… listen, y-you've got to g-get out of here!  Before it's t-too late!"

            "What are you talking about?" Buttercup asked.

            Blossom released both of them and said urgently, "I think I'm c-causing these people to die… I think that wh-when I thought I was s-seeing what was going to happen to them… I was c-causing it somehow… and I used it on you b-both… b-but I don't want anything to happen to you!"

            They started to understand what she was saying, and Bubbles whispered, "W-we're gonna… d-die?"

            "No…" Buttercup said, shaking her head in disbelief.  "No, can't be, we're not gonna die.  That's _crazy…_"

            Blossom looked back down at the fair below them and said, "I need to find that fortune teller… I need to find out what happened, and see if I can undo it before…"  Her thoughts turned to the class, "No, what am I saying?!  I've got to protect the class!  And you two!  Nothing can happen to them if I'm watching them!"

            "Nothing's going to happen to them!" Buttercup insisted.  "There's no curse!  I won't believe it!"

            "Buttercup, _please!" Blossom shouted desperately.  "If anything happened to you two, I'd never forgive myself!  You and Bubbles go and get the class out of the fair, maybe this curse only works if they're on the fairgrounds or something… and watch out for each other, all right?  I'm going to go check on the fortune teller, and I'll be back as soon as possible."  She saw that Buttercup was hesitant, and said, "I mean it!  Be careful, all right?  Please?"_

            Bubbles was staring off into the distance, and whispered again, "We're… we're gonna… die…?"

            "C'mon, Bubbles, snap out of it," Buttercup said, grabbing hold of her arm.  "We'll be fine.  Let's do what Blossom said, all right?"

            Bubbles looked over and finally nodded.  She gave Blossom a glance, before the two of them started flying back for the tent with the art exhibit.  Blossom watched them go, until they were out of view, then quickly turned and looked around the park, her eyes finally falling on the games section.  Descending quickly to the ground, she started looking around for the fortune teller's hut.

            It wasn't hard to find; she retraced her steps quickly and spotted it.  Her heart nearly stopped when she saw that there was a 'CLOSED' sign hanging out in the front.  _What? she thought.  _No, where'd she go?  She can't have left!_  She flew forward and poked her head into the hut… sure enough, it was empty, save for the mechanical crystal ball light in the center.  Blossom's breathing quickened as she realized that the one person she needed to find the most had vanished, the one person who could shed some light on what was going on, and possibly the one person that could reverse it.  __I have to find her… I have to find her, before it's too late…_

TO BE CONTINUED… 


	3. Chapter 3

CHAPTER 3

            "Okay, class," Ms. Keane said as she led everyone out of the art exhibit.  "We'll be heading over to the historical exhibit in just a few minutes.  After that, we'll take a break so that you can go have some fun in the fair some more, okay?"  The kids all cheered, following behind her as she started off towards the section of the fair with the historical exhibit.  _I think this was a great idea, _she thought, _letting the kids get a sample of culture and history while they have fun.  It's a wonderful way for them to learn._

            She didn't get too far, though, because Bubbles and Buttercup flew over a moment later, calling for her attention, "Ms. Keane!  Ms. Keane!"

            "Yes, girls?" she replied, noting the concern in their expressions and wondering if something wrong happened with Blossom.

            Buttercup stopped in front of her and motioned towards the front of the park, saying, "I know this sounds crazy, but you've gotta get the class out of the park as soon as you can, okay?"

            "It's important!" Bubbles added.

            Ms. Keane looked at them oddly, "Why?  What's the matter?"

            "It's a long story," Buttercup said.  "We just… Blossom just thinks somethin' bad's going to happen to you and the class.  I dunno if I believe her myself, but better safe then sorry, y'know?"

            Looking back at the class, Ms. Keane reluctantly said, "Well, I… I suppose… if it's for the safety of the class, I mean…"

            "Great!" Bubbles shouted, grabbing hold of her arm and pulling her in the direction of the front gate, "Let's go…"  Ms. Keane was surprised, but didn't resist, and watched to make sure the kids were still following her, although they looked even more confused than she did.  _Blossom thinks something's going to happen to us? _she thought.  _I hope she can tell me what it is…_

*          *            *

            "No, no… rats!" Blossom said, looking around the back of the fortune teller's hut in hopes that she was around nearby.  She didn't spot any sign of her, and thought furiously, trying to figure out where she might have gone.  _Is there an employee's area nearby?  If she's not there, then at least maybe someone there can tell me if they saw her…_  She gave the area one last glance before flying over to a nearby ride.

            It was a merry-go-round, with the ticket salesman out in front… stopping in front of him, she kept her eyes down at the ground so she wouldn't make eye contact with him, and asked, "Excuse me, sir?  Did you see the fortune teller from the hut over there go by recently?"

            "Umm…" the man said, scratching his head.  "I _think _so… I don't know the fortune teller, but yeah, someone kinda dressed up weird like that left the tent and went for the back parking lot…"  Blossom didn't even wait for him to continue, and flew off towards the back of the park.  The man, in the meantime, blinked a few times and just shrugged, reaching out to collect the tickets of some people approaching the ride.

            It didn't take Blossom long to find the back parking lot, which was obviously reserved for fairground personnel.  As she scanned across the vehicles, it suddenly occurred to her that she had no idea what the lady probably looked like outside of her outfit, and that by now, it was likely that she had driven off already if she had been heading for her car.  She began to sweat a little and told herself, _Okay, calm down… Maybe you're making too much of this… maybe this curse doesn't work outside the park.  Maybe everyone will be fine once they leave.  But just in case, I've got to see if anyone knows where the fortune teller lives.  I'm going to talk to her one way or another._

            She lowered her head a little and rubbed her forehead, trying to clear her thoughts.  The mental images of Bubbles and Buttercup's deaths were frozen there, in her memory, and she couldn't stop thinking about them.  _How can that even happen to us? _she wondered.  But then, she already knew the answer to that.  They were tough, but not invincible.  Their skin may be able to withstand acid or lava, or heavy impacts, and had an overall toughness not unlike titanium, but it was still just skin.  A heavy enough impact could still hurt them… a strong or sharp enough force could still cause the injury she saw in Buttercup.  And as for Bubbles, all three of them still had to breathe, just like everyone else… cut off their air supply, and they were as good as dead.

            _But the other kids should be okay, with the girls watching them, _Blossom thought.  _Once they're out of the fair, and all grouped together, they can have an easier time making sure nothing happens to them…_  As she thought this, a horrible thought struck her, how similar the injuries were in all the classmates when she saw them… the blood drained from her face, and she immediately forgot about the fortune teller for now, rushing off to find the class and cursing herself for not realizing this sooner…

*          *            *

            The school bus pulled out of the parking lot and drove out along the road leading back into Townsville.  All of the kids on the side facing the fair pressed their faces up against the glass, watching sadly as the bus distanced itself from the fair grounds.  Mitch just sat at his seat with his arms folded and declared, "This is stupid!"

            "You know, I'm…" Buttercup said, from her position sitting next to him, "…I'm beginning to think you're right…"

            "Yeah," Mitch said.  "Was this Blossom's fault?  Why'd she want us ta leave?"  Instead of answer, Buttercup just huffed once and looked over the back of her seat, out the window, thinking, _C'mon, Blossom… where are you?  This better not be some kind of big joke…_  Then again, she hoped with all the fiber of her being that it _was _just a joke… Blossom seemed so sure that they were going to die, after all…

            Bubbles fidgeted nervously from her seat, taking a deep breath every so often just to make sure she could breathe okay.  Next to her, Robin said, "What's happening?  What did Blossom say?"

            "I don't… want to say…" Bubbles told her, looking away from her and out of the window, watching as the bus started to cross a bridge.  "It's kinda bad…"

            "Scary bad?" Robin asked.

            Bubbles nodded, and said in a small voice, "Yes…"__

            Robin smiled reassuringly and opened her mouth, about to say something comforting, when a shout from Ms. Keane at the front of the bus overpowered the rest of the conversation going on, although it wasn't directed at the kids, "Driver, _look out!!_"  The bus immediately swerved to the right, trying to avoid a car that was coming at them, driving partially in their lane, but it turned too sharply, and he started turning back to the left to compensate.  The car, in the meantime, struck the rear end of the bus, and the impact caused that end of the bus to spin towards the right side of the road.

            Since the driver had already started turning in that same direction, the entire bus skidded, and everyone was thrown against the right side, including Bubbles and Buttercup, since it happened so suddenly.  By this time, the cars behind the bus, although they had tried to slow down quickly enough, bumped into it and made matters worse… it  finally overturned, crashing down on its right side and sliding another dozen feet before the end of the bus smashed through the railing, leaving it hanging out over the side of the bridge.  It finally came to a rest that way, as the traffic grinded to a halt around them.

            After the initial shock, Buttercup came back to her senses and pulled herself out from underneath the seat she was pinned beneath, looking around.  It was hard to tell where everyone was… some of the kids were visible, caught beneath others or thrown against some of the seats, but a lot of them she couldn't see, probably trapped beneath something or other.

            Making her way to the two closest ones, she pulled them out from beneath the debris, and cringed when she realized that they were injured a lot worse than she had thought, with broken limbs and deep, bleeding cuts.  "Bubbles, I need some help over here!" she called out.  When she didn't receive a reply, she called again, "Bubbles?"

            There was still no answer, and scooping the kids under her arms, she flew out of one of the open windows above her… she immediately spotted Bubbles near the front of the bus, hovering there and holding Robin under one arm.  She was staring at something, and looked as though she was about to burst out crying any moment, her tightly shut mouth wavering.

            "Bubbles, are you okay?" Buttercup asked, flying over… and when she did, she saw through the window on the front of the bus, where Bubbles was looking.  Ms. Keane was crumpled up against the front inside, and her legs and arms were twisted at unnatural angles… but worst of all, her back must have struck hard against an edge there, because it was bending sharply the wrong way.  It was far too obvious from how still she was that she had not survived the crash.

            _She's dead, _Buttercup thought.  _She's dead… and probably some of the kids in the bus are, too…just like Blossom predicted…_  The more she began to see Blossom's visions coming true, the colder she felt, knowing that it meant her own death could be just around the corner.  The very thought of terrified her, and she vowed silently to herself to do everything she can to avoid it… for now, though, she turned back to Bubbles and said, "C'mon, we've gotta get the rest of the kids outta there!"

            Bubbles nodded in agreement, even though she didn't take her eyes off of the front of the bus for a few moments… eventually, she turned away, clenching her eyes shut to avoid a rush of tears, and flew safely to one side to put Robin down.  She was about to head for the bus again when she spotted a lick of flame sticking up out of one of the windows… pointing at it, she cried out, "Buttercup!  Fire!"

            Buttercup saw it, and knew they had to get the kids out of there as fast as they could.  She flew inside, holding her breath and squinting to see through the smoke that was now starting to fill the interior of the bus.  She heard a cough to one side, and pushed a collapsed seat over to find Mitch beneath it.  Grabbing hold of him, she flew outside of the bus and moved a good distance from it, noticing Bubbles now flying into the bus herself to look for survivors.

            Buttercup set Mitch down and said, "You all right?"

            Mitch coughed a few times, grunting, "Yeah… I think so…"  Buttercup nodded and quickly started going back for the bus.  She heard some gasping and loud coughing inside, so she started to call out to ask Bubbles if she was going after that one..

            An alarm went off in her head… _She's in that smoke-filled bus… she probably can't breathe in there… and Blossoms said that she'd…_  Without a moment's hesitation, she took a deep breath and flew right into the bus through the windows, ignoring the flames that were now growing larger.  Sure enough, to her shock, Bubbles had collapsed to the ground, unable to move as her lungs tried unsuccessfully to bring in more air.  Her heart pounding now, Buttercup scooped her up and flew her out as fast as she could.

            Once they were back in the fresh air, she released her breath and immediately exclaimed, "Bubbles!"  There was no answer, so she set her down next to Mitch and watched as her chest moved slightly.  She was afraid, and thought, _No no, don't die on me!  Don't die on me, Bubbles, please!_

            Bubbles finally gave a little cough, and tried to open her eyes a bit before coughing a few more times.  Relief surged through Buttercup and she said, "You're okay!  You'll be fine, Bubbles, just keep breathing, all right?"  Bubbles must have heard, because she nodded weakly, before coughing again.  Buttercup looked over at Mitch and said, "Keep an eye on her for me!"

            "Right!" Mitch agreed, and Buttercup turned to look at the bus again.  The flames were now high up from the windows, and she had a sick feeling that it was too late… even if there were any survivors before, there couldn't be any now.  She turned away from Mitch slightly so that he couldn't see her, and clenched her eyes shut, trying unsuccessfully to keep in her tears.

            People began to gather near the accident site now, and there was also the distant sound of ambulances approaching.  As Robin walked over to stay close to Mitch and Buttercup, she was crying, and even Mitch looked like he was starting to, as well.  Behind them, a trail of pink light became visible in the sky back in the direction of the fair.  Buttercup noticed this and looked up at it for a moment, realizing sadly that as big of a blow this was to her, that they couldn't save most of the class, it was going to be even a bigger blow to Blossom, who had inadvertently caused it in the first place…

*          *            *

            When Blossom spotted the plumes of smoke in the distance, she feared the worse.  As she got closer and saw that it was indeed coming from the school bus, her tears began to form a trail in her wake… she felt some relief at spotting Bubbles and Buttercup off to one side, as well as Mitch and Robin, but was filled with sadness as she realized that there weren't any other survivors standing around.  They were all dead in that bus, she knew it even without having to check.

            _I killed them, _she thought to herself, a thought that struck her repeatedly.  She descended and landed, looking down in sudden concern at where Bubbles was lying with her eyes closed, but seeing her start to sit up, she knew she was going to be okay for now.  Still, she was in shock, and looked at Buttercup, saying, "Buttercup… I…"

            "I know," Buttercup said, without even looking back over at her, eyes fixed on the flames in the bus.  "We can beat this thing, though.  We _have _to."

            "I don't think we can," Blossom said.  "I can't find the fortune teller… she's gone… and nothing we do seems to stop these deaths from happening…"

            Buttercup pointed over at Bubbles and said, "I stopped hers."

            "What?" Blossom asked.

            "She went into the bus while it was on fire," Buttercup explained.  "I had a hunch she might have trouble breathing with all that smoke, and when I went in after her, she _was _in trouble… if it weren't for knowing what you saw, I might not have gone in there until… until it was too late…"

            "So, you think…we can prevent them?" Blossom said, stopping to think about it… _If we can prevent the deaths, then there's still hope…_

            "Blossom," Buttercup said instead of answering, "you've gotta tell me.  How do I die?"  Blossom hesitated a bit, and Buttercup added, "I know I said I didn't wanna know, but if I know what it is, then I can try to avoid it, okay?  Please?"

            After a moment of silence, Blossom managed to say, "Y-you get… cut in half… across your chest…"

            Buttercup shuddered a little at the thought of it.  She spoke a bit louder, although Blossom could tell from her voice that she was afraid, "I-I'm not gonna let that happen, all right?  I'm not gonna die, and n-neither is Bubbles, or Mitch, _or _Robin.  We're all gonna w-watch out for each other, a-and make _sure _of it."

            Robin and Mitch glanced at each other, and focused back on Blossom.  Robin asked, "What are you guys talking about?  What's happening to everyone?"

            Buttercup told them, "We'll explain everything, but we gotta get you to safety first.  Just trust us, okay?"  The two of them nodded, not fully understanding, but also deciding it would be best to go along with what they wanted to do.

            Blossom walked over to them and picked them up, one under each arm, saying, "We're going back to the professor right now.  Buttercup, can you carry Bubbles?  I don't want to look at her… if the curse _is _broken, I don't want to start it up on her again."

            "Right," Buttercup agreed, going over and picking up Bubbles in her arms.  "Why the professor?"

            "I don't know," Blossom replied.  "Maybe he can help us figure out how to break the curse… or maybe he knows a way we can track that woman down… either way, we need all the help we can get to make it through this."  She started flying in the direction of home, and Buttercup flew right alongside of her.  The police and firefighters were arriving, and would undoubtedly have questions to ask, but they didn't have time for them.  Their lives were at stake every moment that they spent looking for an answer…

*          *            *

            The girls stood around in a semi-circle inside the professor's lab, all except for Bubbles, who was sitting until she could recover a little more.  It didn't take long for the three of them to lay it all out for the professor, Mitch, and Robin.  About the fortune teller, about the curse, and about how it was all beginning to come true.  Blossom kept her eyes locked onto the ground the entire time, not daring to look at the professor for fear of cursing him the same way.  It was a lot to digest for them… after they were done telling them everything, the professor was at a loss for words, finally managing to say, "If this is all true… then…"

            "…then they're going to die," Blossom said.  "But maybe we can stop it.  We need that fortune teller, she'll know how to undo it.  Can you think of any way we can find her?"

            The professor rubbed his chin and said, "If she's not at the fair, then she could be anywhere.  If we're lucky, she lives in Townsville, and if she has any sort of criminal record, maybe we can locate where she lives.  Did she have any distinctive features?"

            "Her face all around her eyes were scarred," Blossom told him.

            "That'll do," the professor said, nodding and walking over to a computer off to one side.  "I can contact the police department and see if they have anyone on file matching that description."  He sat down and started working at it, typing quickly.

            Meanwhile, back by the girls, Mitch shook his head a little, "Are we gonna be all right?"

            "I hope so," Buttercup said.  "Just don't go _anywhere _without tellin' us, okay?  We're not letting you out of our sight."

            Robin kept her hands clasped together tightly in front of her, staring at them… she whispered, "…I'm scared…"

            "Me too," Bubbles said, then coughed before continuing, "But as long as we're together, we're safe… right?"

            "Right," Buttercup nodded.  "I saved you once, I can do it again."

            "You saved me, too," Mitch pointed out.  "So am I free?"

            Robin nodded, "And what about me?"

            Buttercup shrugged, "I hope so.  It's probably your best shot… but until I know for sure, you're stayin' right here."  She looked over at Blossom and said, "Bloss, you don't look so good, you all right?"

            Blossom shook her head.  She felt like she was going to throw up… the whole situation was weighing down on her mind and conscience, and made her feel sick to her stomach.  She couldn't take it anymore, and said, "I'll be right back…"  Without any further explanation, she flew out of the lab, and the rest of them watched her go.  Bubbles looked like she wanted to follow, but decided it would be better if she stayed with the others.

            Upstairs, Blossom went into their bedroom, heading directly for the bathroom attached to it.  She stopped by the edge of the toilet and grasped the side, taking a few deep breaths to try and calm herself down.  After she felt a little better, she grasped her forehead and went over to the sink, picking up a glass next to it and filling it with water.  Drinking the contents of the glass, she set it back down and just stared into the sink, watching the water drip from the faucet and trying to sort everything out.

            _Even if we can stop them from dying the way I saw, _she thought, _I still can't just go around looking at anyone ever again.  People aren't as able to defend themselves as we are, and it would be certain death.  Will I be stuck like this forever?  Will I ever be able to look at anyone safely again?_  Her eyes filled with tears, and she wiped them, gazing up at her reflection in the mirror.  Already she was looking worn out by this, and she knew that the best solution for both everyone else and her own sanity was to find that woman and break the curse…

            At that moment, an image flashed into her mind… in horror, she realized that it was _her, _but she was stretched out, lying on her back and… it was too horrible for her to watch, but it was still forced upon her just like any of the other images.  The skin on her torso looked almost like it was torn or burned open, or maybe melted, she couldn't tell… intestines and other organs were spilling out from her, and blood was dribbling out and pooling beneath.  Her head was rolled back, the face was showing such horrible agony, eyes widened to their limits…

            Blossom screamed and looked away from her reflection quickly, clenching her eyes shut tightly and covering them with her hands, but she knew it was already too late.  She fell back from the mirror, landing on the ground in a heap and shaking violently.  _Oh god NO!!!!_ she thought.  _No no no no no no…_

TO BE CONTINUED… 


	4. Chapter 4

CHAPTER 4

            "Blossom?" the professor called out as he went upstairs towards the girls' bedroom.  "Are you okay up there?  We have some good news…"  Not receiving an answer, the professor continued into the bedroom.  He noticed the door to the bathroom open, and saw Blossom curled up on the ground, shaking.  Heading over quickly, he said, "Blossom!  What's wrong?"

            With her eyes tightly clamped, she whispered in a shaky voice, "I-I… I… I saw… m-myself…"

            The professor looked up at the bathroom mirror, then back down at her and said, "You mean you…?"

            "I'm gonna die," she said, her voice strengthening but still filled with fear.  "I'm gonna die… I'm gonna die!!"

            The professor put a comforting hand on head and said, "No, you're not.  Listen, you're going to beat this curse, you understand?  You're going to find the source of it, and find a way to break it."

            "_How?!_" Blossom shrieked, tears squeezing out from her eyes.  "W-we can't find the f-fortune teller, a-and…"

            "Actually, that's what I was coming up here to tell you," he said, looking down at a piece of paper in his other hand.  "We think we've found her.  There's a woman in Townsville with a police record that came up in my search, and she matches your description, right down to the scars around her eyes.  Her name's Judith Barrows… we've got her address and everything."

            Blossom lifted her head a little bit, looking up, "R-really?  So you… you think maybe she'll know how to undo this?"

            "If anyone knows, she does, right?" the professor said, and glanced down at her.  "All you need to do is take a little trip over there, and…"

            Too late, the professor realized that he had just made eye contact with Blossom, who realized it as well in horror.  "_NO!!_" Blossom cried out, hugging the professor's leg and crying, "No, no, not you too!!  Oh _god_…!"

            Scooping her up from the ground and hugging her tightly, he said, "It's all right, Blososm, it's all right…"  He frowned sadly as he felt Blossom shaking in his arms, and told her, "Nothing's going to happen to any of us.  Do you understand?"

            Between sobs, Blossom managed to say, "…y-yes…"

            "Great," the professor nodded, "Now, you head over right now to…"

            Blossom shook her head, "No… no, I c-can't leave anyone out of my sight… w-we gotta make s-sure we're all safe… a-and someone's gotta watch… watch out for m-me now… a-and you, too…"

            "Then we'll all go," the professor reassured her, "and watch out for each other, okay?"  Blossom gave a slow nod and hugged the professor a little tighter, as he carried her out of their room and back downstairs.  Despite the confidence he carried that they would make it through this, he also felt a bit afraid as well, knowing that if they didn't, it would be the end of them all…

*          *          *

            The professor drove his car out of the garage, and started heading towards Townsville.  Next to him in the front seat was Mitch, and the girls were buckled up in the backseats… Robin, without a seatbelt, was squeezed in between Buttercup and Bubbles, both of them holding onto her tightly… Bubbles said, "Don't worry, we won't let anything happen to you, all right?"

            "All right…" Robin nodded.  She called up to the front seat, "Professor?  How far is it?"

            "She lives in the west part of town," the professor replied, "in an apartment building near the waterfront.  We'll be there in just a little while."  Blossom listened to the professor talk, but kept one of her hands on the car door handle and another on her seatbelt at all times.  _If anything happens, _she thought, _I can fly out of here in an instant and get the car to safety.  I'm not going to let _another_ traffic accident happen…_

            Looking over at Blossom, Buttercup asked, "What happens to the professor?  I wanna know, just in case, so I can see it coming…"

            "I think… I think an explosion," Blossom said.  "H-he looked burned… but he was thrown back, hitting something hard… I-I dunno, an explosion is the best I could figure it out…"

            Bubbles stared out of the window for a second, then asked, "Blossom?  What… what happens if the fortune lady can't… you know…"  Blossom didn't answer… she didn't need to, since Bubbles already knew just as well as the rest of them did.  The question just hung in the air on everyone's minds, though.

            _If I can't undo it,_ Blossom thought, _then I… I don't know what I'll do… I'll do anything not to die like I saw I would… anything… _ Every time she thought of the image she shuddered, breaking out into a sweat.  That was probably the worst way to die she had ever seen, and she swore to herself that if there were no other way out, she'd kill herself before it happened.  Better to die by her own terms rather than the curse's…

            As they drew nearer to the apartment, Buttercup got more and more nervous, knowing that something could happen at any moment.  She didn't want to admit it, but she was scared to death by this whole situation… she had a fear of dying buried deep within her that normally never saw the light of day.  All her life, she had been her powers to protect her from this, and constantly made herself out to be the strongest of the three, because it gave her a feeling of invulnerability, that she _couldn't _die so long as she was so powerful.  But faced with inescapable death… she didn't know how long she could keep it together.  At any moment, she felt like she was going to lose control and just run for it, in a futile attempt to evade her fate, but she still had one thought that kept her from doing so: there's always a way out, and they could find it.

            "Hmm," the professor remarked after making a turn at an intersection, "I think that's the building up ahead… we're almost there."

            "Where?  I can't see it," Mitch said, straining to see over the dashboard from the front seat.  After a few unsuccessful attempts, he grunted irritably and undid his seat belt so he could stand up and get a better look.

            The professor looked over at him in shock and said, "What are you doing?  Put your seat belt back on…"  Bubbles, suddenly worried that if anything happened to the car now Mitch might be in danger, let go of Robin's arm and started to reach towards the front seat, trying to grab hold of him…

            With his eyes off the road just for an instant, the professor didn't spot a large broken bottle on the edge of the street, and the car drove over it.  With a loud *_bang*_, the front right tire blew out, and the car started to skid to the right.  Everyone grabbed hold of whatever they could, except for Blossom, who immediately undid her seatbelt and opened the door, flying out of the car and circling around to the back.  She grabbed hold of the rear bumper and held tight, jarring the car to a stop.

            That was a mistake, however… in the sudden stop, Mitch was thrown forward into the front windshield, hitting it with enough force that he crashed through it, flying out onto the road in front of them.  At the same time, Buttercup lost her grip on Robin's arm, and the force of the stop sent her tumbling against the front seat and out the open door Blossom had left the car through.  She rolled a few times in the street, sliding to a halt finally.

            As everyone recovered from what had just happened, Blossom gasped and flew over to check on Robin, while the other girls had already undid their seat belts and went to check on Mitch.  Robin coughed and started to sit up, and Blossom was relieved… despite a few small scrapes and cuts, she seemed amazingly all right.  When she looked over at the other girls to see how Mitch was, however, she saw Buttercup biting her lip and looking back over sadly.

            The professor got out of the car and looked at Mitch… he said, "I'll… I'll call the hospital, and…"

            "No…" Buttercup said, shaking her head.  "No, it's too late…"  Bubbles was trying hard not to cry, and turned away from Mitch, looking over at the professor expectantly to wait for what they should do next.

            Blossom said, "Robin's fine… she got a little banged up, but she'll be okay, right?"

            "I think so," Robin said.  As she started to sit up, her eyes widened as she saw a car turning onto the road at a nearby intersection, coming fast and heading directly for them… obviously, the driver had not seen them.  She cried out, "Blossom!!"

            Blossom glanced over, and seeing the car heading directly for them, had just enough time to grab Robin and throw her into the air, shouting, "Girls, _catch!!_"  The car rammed into Blossom in the next instant, knocking her to one side and causing the car to slam on the brakes, coming to a stop.  Robin, in the meantime, was arcing through the air towards the other side of the street, screaming… she had been thrown a little too hard, and went over the girls' heads.  Buttercup hesitated, taken by surprise, but Bubbles launched herself into the air, trying to catch Robin as she passed over.

            She just barely missed, her hand brushing against the edge of her foot as she went by.  Robin fell down towards the buildings on the other side of the street, directly onto an iron fence that was in front of the building, her head coming down onto one of the spikes.  Her scream was cut short, and Bubbles, who had watched her fall, gave a horrified shriek and covered her eyes to avoid seeing the grisly sight.

            Blossom got back up from where the car had knocked her, and saw what happened.  _NO! _she thought… _No, I was trying to save her!  Th-that didn't just happen…Robin, no…  _But it dawned on her as well that she should have seen this coming.  After all, the image she had seen when she looked at Robin earlier wasn't broken bones or anything, nor was it being crushed like if the car had hit her… it was exactly how she was now.

            A deathly silence hung in the air for a few moments, nobody daring to talk.  The driver of the other car got out and saw the accident, saying, "Holy geez… i-is there anything I can do…?"

            The professor snapped out of his trance and said, "Call an ambulance… quickly."  The man nodded and went off to find a phone, and the girls let him go, knowing that an ambulance couldn't save them now anyway…  Waiting until the man disappeared into a building, the professor focused on the apartment complex and said, "Let's go… we don't have any time to lose."  He started for it, and the girls followed, although they glanced back at Mitch and Robin's bodies, feeling terrible at leaving them behind like this.  But they knew they'd be joining them if they didn't finish this as fast as they could…

*          *          *

            The professor read the doorplate aloud, "Apartment 4E.  This is the place…"  He reached out and knocked on the door firmly.  As they waited for a reply, Blossom hoped that she was home, or else they were back where they started.  If the woman had left town already, there was no possible way they could track her down in time.  They would all be dead long before that.

            All of them breathed a collective sigh of relief when they heard footsteps approaching the door, and the sounds of locks and chains being removed.  The door edged open, and Blossom kept her eyes on the ground, not wanting to look her in the eyes.  A woman was at the door; she looked middle-aged, with black, wavy hair and the beginnings of some wrinkles.  She was wearing a simple flowered dress and a shawl… even though she wasn't wearing the gaudy fortune teller's outfit she had been earlier, she definitely matched Blossom's description, with the hazel eyes and the scars that surrounded them.  "Can I help you?" she asked.

            "Judith Barrows?" the professor said.  When the woman nodded, he continued, "May we come in?"  The woman looked confused at their presence, but when she looked down and saw Blossom looking down at the ground, she froze for a moment, and stepped aside to let them in.

            Going inside, her apartment had a few antiques and some simple furniture, but the walls were also covered with newspaper clippings… a lot of them looked like obituaries, with entries circled in a heavy black marker.  Judith, in the meantime, went over to an easy chair in the room and sat down, saying, "I don't need to ask why you're here…"

            Blossom, still keeping her eyes away from the woman, said, "What did you _do _to me?!"

            "I'm so sorry," Judith said, sighing deeply.  "The gift has been with me since I was a child… it was given to me by my mother, who had received it from a stranger when _she _was a girl…"

            "What is it, exactly?" the professor asked.

            Judith closed her eyes and said, "A curse… a curse that has been passed from person to person for who knows how long.  The stranger had told my mother that it had been passed along continuously, maybe for hundreds of years.  Once I had it, I couldn't take it, seeing so much death, and tried to…"  She cut herself off and motioned at her scars.  "But the curse… protected my eyes somehow.  I couldn't hurt them.  So I've lived with it ever since."

            Buttercup asked, "Where did it come from?"

            "I wish I could tell you," Judith said.  "My mother had done a great deal of research to try and find its origin, but came up empty-handed.  It could very well be thousands of years old, not merely hundreds.  But it must have been secretive, as she could not find even the vaguest reference to it in any historical records."

            "But why me?" Blossom demanded.  "Why did you pass it to me?"

            Judith looked over at her and said, "It happens when you reach a certain age… you must find a child to pass the ability to, the curse sort of compels you to do so.  I am very sorry it had to be you, but I had to find someone willing to take it… your mind was open and you were willing, so I took the opportunity.  I couldn't help it, please believe me…"

            Blossom frowned, "So how do we get rid of this thing?  How do we stop the deaths?"

            "You can't," Judith said, shaking her head.  "The deaths you see are cast by the hand of fate.  They cannot be stopped, and believe me, I've tried…"  Bubbles and Buttercup stared at each other when she said this, both of them afraid by what the woman said.

            "No, I won't accept that!" Blossom shouted.  "There has got to be a way to keep it from happening!  I don't want to cause people to die every time I look…"

            "Cause?" Judith asked, confused.  "What do you mean?"

            Blossom blinked, and said, "Everyone I've looked at so far today has died… I'm _causing_ this…"  She hesitated, and feeling cold again, she asked, "You… you never caused them?"

            "Most of the ones I saw took years before they came to pass…" she answered.  "This… doesn't make any sense…"

            "Unless…" the professor spoke up, rubbing his chin thoughtfully.  Everyone looked over at him, and he said, "Maybe your superpowers are enhancing it somehow.  It's just a theory, but maybe it explains how come with Judith, she was just seeing how the people would _eventually _die, and you're actually _causing _them to die… if it had been anyone else…"

            "Oh god…" Judith said, staring off at the wall in shock, "…what have I done?"

            Blossom gritted her teeth, staring at her and saying urgently, "You've got to tell me how we can stop this!  This thing has already killed a lot of people at the fair, and my entire class from school… and now it's going to kill both my sisters _and _my dad, and me as well!  You tell me _right now _how to get rid of this!"

            Judith looked at her blankly and stammered, "I-I don't know!  I've never… never heard of anything like this happening, a-and I…"  She trailed off as she realized Blossom's expression had changed the moment she had looked over at her.  "What…?"

            Blossom felt herself sweating a bit and said, "I-if you don't want to die… due to being crushed… th-then you'll help us find a way to stop this, all right?"

            "But… I've seen myself in a mirror before…" Judith told her.  "I die because of a stroke…"

            "Not anymore…" Blossom said sadly.  "I'm sorry… listen, can you think of _anything_ that might help us?  At least to undo the deaths we caused, or maybe get rid of this thing altogether?"  Everyone else looked at her hopefully.

            "Well…" Judith said, gripping the arms of her chair.  "I… I guess… as long as you have your powers enhancing it… maybe if you took them away, it… it would…"

            "That's it!" Blossom exclaimed.  "Professor, we need to get back and get some Antidote-X…"  She looked back over at Judith and said, "But if that doesn't work, we need a backup plan…"

            "The only thing I can think of…" Judith said, swallowing.  "Is… well…"

            "What?" Buttercup asked.  "C'mon, tell us!"

            Judith finally said, "If… if the one carrying the curse… dies… that would be the only way to destroy the curse forever…"  Everyone else looked over at Blossom when she said this, as she continued, "Maybe if the curse is gone entirely… then that will save people…"

            "No," Bubbles said, shaking her head.  "Blossom, you can't…"

            Blossom looked a bit shaky and said, "To save you three?  If there was no other way?  I could, and I will."  She took a deep breath and said, "O-only if there's no other way, though.  We try the Antidote-X first, and…"

            The professor held up his hand to cut her off, sniffing the air, "Wait… *_sniff_*  Do you smell that?"  The others sniffed the air, and looked confused… there was definitely some odd scent in the air.  The professor said, "That… smells like gas…"

            "Is there a leak somewhere?" Blossom asked… as she did, she suddenly recalled how the professor was going to die, and said, "We've got to get out of here right now!"  Without wasting any further time, she grabbed hold of the professor's arm and started flying for the window.

            "What?  What's going on?" Bubbles said, following.  Buttercup followed suit… Judith just stood up, confused, but by that time, Blossom had already opened the window and flown out with the professor in tow.  Both of the other girls flew out as well, and Bubbles shouted, "Blossom?  What's wrong?"

            Looking back over her shoulder, Blossom said, "Don't leave without Judith!  Get her out of there, quickly!"  Bubbles nodded and turned around, starting to head back.  As she did, though, there was a loud blast, as the gas leak in the building exploded, detonating the sides of the building out.  Flames and large chunks of debris shot outwards.  A large chunk of wall struck Bubbles hard, its trajectory carrying her out over the bay outside the building and into the water.  Before she could recover from it, she struck the ocean floor… the weight of the debris sandwiched her against the ground, the impact forcing her breath out of her.  She struggled to push the piece of debris off and swim back to the surface, but she was disoriented and panicked, and couldn't tell which way was up…

            In the air, Buttercup shielded herself from the blast, and saw some debris flying towards her that looked like a flat sheet of metal.  She was about to try and dodge it when she instinctively stuck her hands out instead, catching it.  As she had partially expected, the sheet hit her with enough force to knock her back through the air, but thanks to having caught it, it didn't strike her directly.  She perspired heavily as she realized, looking down at it in her hands, it was positioned perfectly to slice her in half, if she hadn't caught it.  The near miss made her freeze, gaping at it.

            Blossom, in the meantime, looked back at the building, the flames out of control and parts of the structure collapsing, and knew already what she'd find if she went back inside… undoubtedly, Judith was crushed beneath piles of brick from the floors above, and there was nothing they could do.  Noticing Buttercup hovering perfectly still, she asked, "Buttercup, are you okay?"

            "I'm… I'm fine…" Buttercup managed to answer, finally releasing the piece of metal and letting it drop away from her.  "The professor…?"

            "I've got him, he's all right," Blossom said, looking at the professor where she held him.  She called out, "Bubbles?  Are you all right?"

            There was no answer, and Buttercup looked around, trying to figure out where she had disappeared to… her eyes fell down to the water below, and her heart nearly stopped… she shrieked, "_THERE!!_" and pointed… when Blossom and the professor looked down, they saw it too, both of them as horrified as Buttercup.  Bubbles was floating face-down on the surface of the water, completely still…

            Without wasting another second, Buttercup flew over and hauled her out of the water, dragging her quickly to the shore.  She was so still, and her face was turning blue.  Blossom landed next to her, and once they were safely on the ground, the professor rushed over to Bubbles and checked her vitals… he immediately started performing CPR on her.

            "No… Bubbles, c'mon…" Blossom cried.  "Breathe, please…"  Buttercup grabbed hold of her hands, but didn't take her eyes off of them.  The professor tried a few more times, and finally stopped… tears fell from his eyes, and he shook his head.  Blossom hugged Buttercup tightly, crying, and Buttercup just continued to stare sadly through her own tear-filled eyes, in disbelief…

TO BE CONTINUED… 


	5. Chapter 5

CHAPTER 5

            "We… we can't stop it… can we?" Buttercup finally said.  "W-we're really all gonna die…"  It was so difficult for her to keep from just going into a total panic, seeing Bubbles lying lifelessly nearby and knowing that it was only a matter of time before she would be dead as well, powerless to do anything but wait for it to happen.  She wanted this all to be some terrible dream, for Bubbles to still be all right…

            The professor finally stood up, lifting Bubbles' body with him in his arms, and regained his composure enough to say, "No, I… won't let it happen.  We can still stop this.  The Antidote-X…"

            "B-but…" Blossom sobbed, "But… but it's too l-late… for Bubbles…"

            "But it's not too late for the rest of us," the professor said.  "We need to hurry now… I don't want to lose either of you as well…"  The girls nodded and flew over, picking up the professor so that they could start flying back home.  The professor, in the meantime, cradled Bubbles' body tightly, closing his eyes and trying to keep the rest of his tears at bay.  They lifted into the air and made a beeline for home.

            On the way, Blossom said, "This is all my fault… I s-should never have… I shouldn't have gone in to see the fortune teller in the first place… I-I don't even _believe _in that junk, wh-why did…" She clenched her eyes shut for a second and continued, "How could I be so _stupid…_"

            "Bloss, no, you didn't know," Buttercup told her.

            Blossom ignored her and said, "Even if the Antidote-X works, it's not going to bring Bubbles back… she paid for _my _stupidity, Buttercup.  She did, and Mitch, and Robin… and everyone else.  No, I'm not going to let it happen to _anyone_ else, no matter _what._  Not _one_ more person is going to die because of me…"  Her last statement hung by itself as they continued the rest of the way home in silence.  Blossom was still thinking, though… she knew if it meant sacrificing herself, she would do so, but if it had to come to that, she would never forgive herself for not doing it immediately, before everyone else had to suffer for it…

*          *            *

            They opened the door to the house, and went inside.  The professor went into the living room and laid Bubbles down on the couch, while the other girls hovered nearby.  Even now, they still couldn't believe it… they expected _something _from her, a cough or some movement, but nothing came.  The professor kept her eyes on her, but spoke, "Blossom, the Antidote-X is in the lab.  Go on ahead, I… I want to stay here for a moment…"

            "But…" Blossom started to protest, still not wanting him to leave her sight as long as the curse was on them… Buttercup took her arm, though, and shook her head, and Blossom realized that he just wanted some time alone to say a few last respects, especially since if this didn't work, this may be his final chance to do so.  She reluctantly nodded and started towards the lab, Buttercup following behind her.

            As they descended the stairs, Blossom said, "It's just not going to be the same, is it?"

            "No, it's not…" Buttercup agreed.  They entered the center of the lab and started looking around for the necessary chemical.  As they did, Buttercup remarked, "So you're really going to go through with it, then…"

            "Why wouldn't I?" Blossom asked.  "My powers don't mean as much as…"

            "No, I mean what you said before," Buttercup interrupted, examining a rack of test tubes as she spoke.  "About if this doesn't work."

            "Oh…" Blossom replied.  She fell silent and continued looking for the chemical, but eventually added, "Yes… of course I would… I mean, if it doesn't work, I'm going to die anyway, so why let it take the two of you down also?"

            Buttercup flew over to search the contents of some shelves and nodded, "Good point…"  She spotted a large beaker that read, 'Anti-X Concentrate' and pulled it down from the shelf, "Got it."

            Flying over, Blossom took the beaker down and said, "How much do you think we need?"

            "Does it matter?  Just splash a little on," Buttercup said.

            "No, we have to make sure," Blossom told her.  "If it doesn't get rid of my powers entirely, it might not work.  The professor usually dilutes this stuff, and that's why it never got rid of our powers completely.  It was really simple for him to bring our powers back…"

            "Right," Buttercup nodded.  "So, all of it then?"

            "Better to be safe then sorry," Blossom said.  "It's not toxic or anything, so the excess shouldn't make me sick."  She looked down at the beaker and hesitated.

            After a second, Buttercup asked, "What is it?"

            "Nothing, I just…" Blossom said, then took a deep breath and continued, "I just wonder… this curse was just supposed to see how people were going to die.  Not _cause_ them to die…"

            "What about it?" Buttercup said.

            "Well, maybe the visions aren't fate," Blossom wondered.  "Maybe they're just… I don't know, like, really good chances of what will happen.  Maybe there _is _a way to stop them if we try hard enough."

            Buttercup shook her head, "We've been over that.  That lady said…"

            "That lady is the perfect example," Blossom pointed out.  "Before we left, Judith said she had seen her own death, remember?  She was going to die because of a stroke, that's what she said she saw."

            "Yeah, but then your own curse changed that," Buttercup said.

            "Exactly my point," Blossom nodded.  "If these visions are fate, and they were so unchangeable, then how could I have changed it?  Whatever I have, it's just _changing _people's fates… it's not definite that it'll happen to them.  For her curse, it was definite, but for mine… I'm beginning to think it's maybe not…"

            "But Bubbles… and the others…" Buttercup said.

            "I know…" Blossom said, looking back down at the Antidote-X, "I know… I guess what I'm trying to say is, if this doesn't work, maybe… maybe I should still give constant defense a try.  We know we can prevent it for a _little _while, right?  Maybe if we keep preventing the deaths from happening long enough, the curse will… I don't know… wear off or something.  Returning back to our _original _fate, whatever that is.  If that's true, and removing my powers doesn't stop anything, I should probably just get my powers back with some Chemical X… that way, I can help out you guys a lot easier until you're safe from it."

            "Instead of killing yourself, right?" Buttercup said.  "Yeah, I definitely think that's a better idea.  Do you think it'll work?"

            "Only one way to find out, isn't there?" Blossom said, gripping the beaker tightly.  She started to raise it up so she could drink from it, but Buttercup put her hand on her arm suddenly to stop her.  "What?" Blossom asked, startled.

            "Blossom, I just had a horrible thought," Buttercup said, concerned.  "What if this is the first step of your own death?  You're gonna be vulnerable after this… if it doesn't stop things, this is what could make whatever it is that's gonna kill you still affect you…"

            Blossom pulled her arm free from Buttercup's grasp and replied, "I've got to take that chance, Buttercup.  Worse comes to worst, I can always just give myself the Chemical X as soon as we see any sign of trouble.  Okay?"

            "Okay…"  Buttercup agreed.  "Well… good luck."

            Blossom nodded, and carefully lifted the beaker to her lips, drinking the contents slowly.  She grimaced a little at the bad taste of it, but made it through the entire beaker.  She set it down and coughed, "Ugh… that stuff tastes terrible…"

            "Is it working?" Buttercup asked.

            "Yeah, I think so…" Blossom nodded.  Without even moving, she said, "Yeah, don't feel my powers anymore.  We may have to wait until this stuff disperses through my system, though, 'cause if there's even one cell that still has power, it could be enough…"  She cringed a little, rubbing a hand across her stomach and saying, "Ughhhh… maybe it's not toxic, but it sure feels funny…"

            Buttercup frowned, "You're not sick, are ya?"

            "No, I'm fine, I…" Blossom started to say, then gripped her stomach, taking in a sharp breath through her clenched teeth before saying, "Owww!"

            "What?  What's wrong?" Buttercup asked worriedly.

            Blossom took a step back, leaning up against the wall and said, "My stomach… feels like it's on fir—AAGHH!!"  She cried out and grasped her midsection, doubling over in pain.  Buttercup was shocked, and didn't know what to do… she watched as Blossom grunted, "…I-it won't… s-stop… hurting… _nnnng_!!  Oh g—_GAAHHH_!!!"

            "_Professor_!" Buttercup called towards the stairway, "_Quick_!"  But it looked like it was already too late.  Blossom fell to the ground on her side, her arms pulling away from her stomach as she arched her back in pain… her hands, which had still been gripping her dress, ripped part of it free, exposing her midsection.  Buttercup could see the skin had melted underneath, and she knew in an instant that it had to have been the Antidote-X… in such a high concentration, it was practically like an acid to their Chemical-X-infused cells.  She recoiled in horror, and finally turned her back to the gruesome sight, covering her mouth and trying not to cry as she continued to listen to Blossom's screams, knowing there was no way to save her now…

*          *            *

            There was a particularly large gathering at the funeral the next day.  This wasn't surprising, since it was the funeral for so many people.  All the victims had friends and family at the ceremony, and extra condolences were given to Professor Utonium and Buttercup, both of whom were in attendance as well.  They were still alive, even after a day, without anything odd happening to them, so they realized they were safe… as horrible as Blossom's death was, it must have changed their fate as they thought it would.

            There was a long line of closed caskets up front, including a number of smaller ones for the Pokey Oaks kindergarten class, as well as Bubbles and Blossom.  People came up one by one to speak about their loved ones lost, a lot of touching memories and feelings conveyed to everyone.  The professor had a chance to say a few words, so he went up front and addressed the gathering.  "Words cannot describe how I feel about the loss of my daughters, Blossom and Bubbles," he said.  "Even though they were created in my laboratory, I loved them as much as any of you would love your own children.  To see them met with such an early end is… saddening beyond mere words."

            He closed his eyes for a moment before continuing, "But it has given me a lot to think about.  Whether we die tomorrow, or in a hundred years, it is still our fate as mortal beings to have an end.  We are all fated to meet this end, whenever it may eventually come upon us.  It's what we do in the time we are here that defines us.  I like to think that even though Blossom and Bubbles' times were cut short, they still accomplished much, and for that, I think their lives were not wasted.  They were bright stars in our world, and though they were taken from us, their light will continue to shine."

            Reopening his eyes, he looked out across everyone and added, "I have also learned, then, that while our fate is definite, our life itself is not set in stone.  We should not try to avoid death, or change it, but we should accept it.  We should not need to see how it happens, or why, but instead, we should do what we were meant to do: work, play, live… not to squander our time, but to grasp it, take hold and try to make a difference.  It is all we, as mortal beings, can hope for, and it is our actions that will define where we go, and what ultimately becomes of us."

            With that, he stepped down and returned to his seat next to Buttercup.  She in turn took hold of his arm and hugged it tightly, staying that way for the rest of the ceremony.  It was hard on them both, as it must have been for everyone else in attendance, but they knew they had each other to help them through the ordeal…

*          *            *

            Buttercup flew down in the professor's lab… in the days following the funeral, both of them had tried to get along with their lives, but Buttercup found it difficult to be anywhere except nearby the professor.  He felt the same way, and the two spent most of their time together, either in the lab or working on things in the house.  She flew over to where he was working at one of the desks and said, "Hey, Professor…"

            "Buttercup," he nodded, acknowledging her as he continued scribbling some notes as he observed a mixture in one of the test tubes.

            Sitting down on a stool next to him, she looked at his experiment and said, "What are you working on?"

            "Nothing important, just a more efficient fuel source to replace gasoline," he said, then looked over at her, "How are you doing?"

            "Fine, I guess," Buttercup said.  She hesitated, and the professor could see it in her eyes that she was thinking about something, so he gave her a questioning glance.  Taking a deep breath, she asked, "Professor, is there… is there anything you would have done differently back then?"

            The professor looked back at his experiment, and said, "Probably not… we did everything we could, and that's what I would have done in any case."

            Buttercup shook her head, "No, I mean, knowing what you knew now…"

            "But I didn't," the professor said.  "and if I had, yes, things may have changed… for the better, or maybe for the worse.  Or maybe nothing would have changed.  We can look back at the situation in regret, thinking that _maybe _if we had done something differently, we could have saved everyone… or, we could be thankful that things didn't happen the way we thought they would happen.  What we knew _then, _that we were so certain we were going to die, was unimportant, so perhaps what we know now is equally so.  Things happened the way they did, and that's that."

            "Maybe…" Buttercup agreed.  "But I can't stop thinking that there was still something we could have done…"

            The professor added the contents of a second test tube into his main mixture and watched it bubble, recording the results and saying, "You're right in thinking that way, but you should be thinking about the _future_, not the past.  There is still something that can be done about the future."

            "What's that?" Buttercup asked.

            He turned his head slightly to look at her and said, "You can live it.  We were given an extra chance, you and I, and we shouldn't waste it.  I _could _be spending the rest of my life living in regret of not having done things differently, but then, the world would probably _never _get a new efficient fuel, would it?  We've all got to do what we've got to do."  He grinned slightly.

            Grinning a little as well, Buttercup said, "Yeah…"

            "How about after I'm through here," the professor asked, "I go and order some pizza for us?  It's getting close to dinner."

            "Yeah, that sounds g—…" Buttercup began, but she was interrupted as the mixture the professor was working on abruptly exploded.  The force of the surprising blast sent her flying, smashing up against the side of a large apparatus on one end of the lab.  Lying on her back, she shook her head and recovered pretty quickly, but when she opened her eyes and looked up, she saw that the explosion had thrown the professor as well… his face was burned from the proximity of it, and the force of the blast had impacted him against the wall.  At first, he looked unconscious, but the back of his head was cracked and bloody, half-smashed from where it hit the wall…

            _Oh my god!!_ Buttercup thought in a panic, remembering that it matched Blossom's vision of the professor almost perfectly… _W-we're not safe… it… i-it really _is _unavoidable, isn't it…?  _She barely had time to acknowledge this fact, because a shadow crossed her… looking back up, she saw that the heavy apparatus she had been thrown up against was toppling towards her, a sharp corner aimed directly at her chest, with no time to dodge or even fully realize the danger before the metal slammed down hard on her like a guillotine…

THE END 


End file.
